Sunday Quiz on organised athletics
Florence Griffith Joyner celebrates her win at 1988 Olympics in Seoul.
START THE QUIZ
1 / 10 |
Born on June 13, 1897, Paavo Nurmi was a runner who in 1923 held the world records in the mile, 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres at the same time. At the 1924 Olympics, he won five gold medals in six days, some within hours of each other. When he toured the U.S. doing running exhibitions, the American media gave him an alliterative nickname because of his speed and nationality. What did they call this athlete who passed away in Helsinki in 1973?
2 / 10 |
The 2008 Beijing Olympic women’s 100m sprint winners were unique in two aspects. First, they were all from Jamaica. Shelly-Ann Fraser took the gold with her time of 10.78 seconds. Her colleagues Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart followed her. What was the other unique aspect of the result that has not happened again in Olympic athletics?
Answer : They tied for silver at 10.98 seconds, so two silver medals were given with no bronze.
SHOW ANSWER
3 / 10 |
The Axel jump is named after Norwegian Axel Paulsen, who in 1882 became the first person in the sport to perform it. The triple Axel jump is considered to be the most technically difficult jump. Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, Jr. of the U.S. became the first pair to perform a triple Axel in competition in 2006, and repeated the feat at the 2006 Winter Olympics. In which sport does the Axel jump feature?
4 / 10 |
At the 1968 Mexico Summer Olympics, African-American sprinter Jim Hines won the 100m final. The light beam reading at the finish line showed his time to be 9.89 seconds, but was later followed by the official Polaroid film-based timing of 9.95 seconds. Later in the day, his team went on to win the 4x100m, in which he ran his 100m in just 8.2 seconds. What significant ‘first’ did Jim Hines achieve in the field of athletics?
5 / 10 |
This event is a long-distance discipline typically covering 20km and 50km at the Olympics. Usually held on the road, it originated from the British sport of pedestrianism, a type of long-distance competitive walking. The main rule is that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times, which leads to the peculiar but taxing gait that athletes have during this event. What is the name of this event?
6 / 10 |
Florence Griffith Joyner was a full-time bank teller and part time-beautician who competed in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. During the trials for the 100m in 1988, she set a world record that still stands today, and her timing in the final was better than all the men in the decathlon. She broke the 200m world record twice in the same day. Known for her flamboyant outfits and coloured nails, what animals did she chase as a kid that helped her run so fast?
7 / 10 |
At the 1968 Mexico Olympics, Bob Beamon made his run-up and executed his first attempt in the final of his event. After about 15 minutes of the judges having to use their tape measure, the announcer called out the distance. The athlete, who wasn’t familiar with metric measurements, didn’t realise what he’d just done, but his coach told him he had broken the world record by an incredible margin of 55cm. Until then, the record had changed almost every year, but Beamon’s record would stand for 23 years. In which event did this iconic record happen?
8 / 10 |
This athletic event is known as retro running and has championships dedicated to it. This type of running is not energy-efficient but has been known to reduce knee pain. It also requires more coordination and, therefore, develops both brain and muscle power. Some of its most frequent practitioners are referees in football and rugby, who are thus able to continuously observe an area of play without interfering. How do we better know retro running?
9 / 10 |
This country has been participating in the Olympics since 1956. They have won 54 medals overall — 22 gold, 11 silver and 21 bronze — and in the process set one world record and seven Olympic records. Interestingly, every single medal won by this country has been in long-distance events such as the marathon, 10,000m, 5,000m, 3,000m steeplechase and the 1,500m. Which country is this that is located in the horn of Africa?
10 / 10 |
Jonathan Edwards made headlines at the 1995 World Championships held in Sweden. On his first attempt, he became the first man to pass the 18-metre barrier with a result of 18.16m. This was a world record, but it stood for hardly 20 minutes, as Edwards achieved 18.29m in his second attempt. This made him the first ever to get to 60 feet, a record that still stands as of 2021. What event is this that requires athletes to hop, bound and jump?
